Epilepsy warning

Some people are likely to suffer from epileptic attacks, or loss of consciousness,
particularly when looking at some types of strong flashing lights: rapid succession of images or repetition of simple geometric shapes, flashes or explosions.
Such people leave themselves open to the risk of attacks when playing some video
games which include such stimulation, even if they have no medical history or
have never experienced such attacks themselves.
If you or a member of your family have already displayed symptoms associated
with epilepsy (attacks or loss of consciousness) when faced with flashing lights,
consult your doctor before using the product. Parents should pay particular
attention to their children when they are playing with video games. If you or your
child displays one of the following symptoms: vertigo, blurred vision, eye or
muscle spasms, disorientation, uncontrollable movements or convulsions, or
brief loss of consciousness, YOU MUST STOP PLAYING IMMEDIATELY and
consult a doctor.

Contents

Introduction4
System Requirements4
Game Installation5
Game Uninstallation5
Main Menu6
Game Menu8
User Interface9
Journal Window11
Character Information11
Abilities12
Quests13
Equipment Window13
Inventory Window14
Resting and Saving the Game16
Local Map and World Map17
Vendor18
Play of Dice19
NPC Icons20
Fighting Enemies21
Arena22
Animal Vendor25
Your Priest26
Deities38
Your First Moments in the Game50
Default Hotkeys54
Credits55

Introduction

Welcome to the world of Ancient Greece in Numen: Contest of Heroes. A world

where you must watch out for danger from early childhood, be it in the form of wild
animals, desperate ruffians, cunning wizards or enigmatic gods and goddesses. The
common people living on the islands scattered in the Aegean Sea attend to their
everyday duties and dont trouble themselves about whats going on somewhere far
away beyond the horizon. Their only concern is to ensure a livelihood for themselves
and their relatives, to harvest crops grown on their small patches of land and to catch
fish using their shabby old fishnets. But what happens when circumstances force you
to step across your own shadow and set out for strange places to fight against the
cruelty of fate? If you want to succeed, youll have to enlist in the service of one of the
nine great Greek deities and prove they made no mistake in granting you their favor.

System Requirements
Minimum System Requirements
Operating system
Processor
Memory
Free disk space
Video card
Sound card
Other

Windows XP/Vista/7
Pentium IV 2.0 GHz
1 GB RAM
2 GB
256MB, DirectX 9 compatible
DirectX 9 compatible
DVD drive, keyboard & mouse

Recommended System Configuration

Processor
Memory
Video card

Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz

2 GB RAM
512MB, DirectX 9 compatible

Game Installation

Insert the Numen: Contest of Heroes DVD into your DVD drive and the autorun menu will appear. Click the button Install the game and follow the
onscreen instructions.
If autorun is disabled, you can run the installer in following way: double click on
the My Computer icon on your Windows Desktop, then on the DVD drive icon
and fi nally on the fi le setup.exe. Read the license agreement, click Agree and
follow the onscreen instructions.
The installer automatically creates a folder in the Start Menu. If you so wish, it
may also create an icon on the Windows Desktop.
After the installation is complete you may run the game by

the Start Menu, where you click on:

Start Programs Cinemax Numen Start game

clicking on the icon Numen: Contest of Heroes on the Windows Desktop.

Game Uninstallation
In the menu Start Settings Control Panels double-click on Add or Remove
Programs (or Programs and Functions in Windows Vista). Highlight
Numen: Contest of Heroes and click Remove/Uninstall. Th is deletes the main
program and its data fi les, but retains all fi les created by players (i.e. saved
games). Those fi les may be manually deleted later.

Main Menu

Although there arent any usual buttons in the main menu

it allows you to do everything you need.

Start New Game (as a boy/as a girl)

Options
Load Game
Credits
Exit Game

Start New Game (as a boy/as a girl)

By clicking on the boy or the girl you select the gender of your character and start
a new adventure. Numen doesnt prefer any gender by its given characteristics, so
you may decide based on your personal preference. Except for several moments
your choice will not have any significant effect on the gaming experience.

Options
In the Options menu you may change the quality of sound and graphics, but there
are also various settings for the Help and Combat subsystems. If you are new to
the genre of adventure games or if you just wish that the game introduces you to
all of its specifics, turn on the help windows. Those windows will explain every
new game element you encounter that could be of interest to you. Another important setting concerns combat difficulty. By default the game is set to easy difficulty. But if you find the game too easy, try selecting medium or hard difficulty
and see if youre really as good as you think you are. Because you may change the
combat difficulty at any time during the game, we recommend starting with the
easy setting.

Load Game
If you have started a game already and wish to continue your adventure, select the
desired saved game in this menu.

Credits
Shows the list of the authors of Numen.

Exit Game
Clicking on the iron-bound gate will quit the game and return you back to your
Windows desktop.

Game Menu

The game menu, accessible during the game by pressing the ESC key,
contains the following buttons:

Resume
Returns you back to the ongoing game.

Load game
Click this if you want to load a previously saved game.

Options
Shows the Options menu where you can change sound
and graphics quality and combat difficulty.

Main menu
Use this button to return to the main menu.

Quit game
This button quits the game and returns you
back to the Windows desktop.

User Interface

Exact knowledge of the user interface and good orientation

in it may often save your life in a combat.
There is a portrait of your hero in the upper left corner of the screen. When someone attacks you, the background of the portrait will turn red. Next to it are three
important indicators describing your current state. The largest of them is the
health indicator. If from some reason it reaches zero, you will die, so dont forget
to watch it carefully. Your health can be most easily replenished by drinking
ahealing potion, but you may also use several useful abilities, different for each
class. Under the health indicator there is a blue energy indicator. You expend
energy in casting spells and using your special abilities. In childhood you lose

energy with each spell cast or ability used. But when you reach adulthood, the
indicator starts to behave specifically according to the class you have chosen.
AMage has his energy full for most of the time and it gets lower during combat
according to what spells he casts. If his energy gets too low during a fight, leaving
him unable to cast another spell, then he may use a magic potion. The energy
reserve behavior of an Archer is similar. He cannot replenish it using a potion,
however, so his only way to gain more energy during combat is to not use his
special abilities for some time. The Warriors energy functions in a different way.
He has to gain energy first by using standard attacks, and only then may he use it
for some of his special abilities. The last indicator shows the level of your stamina.
The greater the indicator the faster you heal when you are not fighting. If it
reaches zero you cease to heal and you must rest to get some stamina back. There
may be some icons under the portrait as well. These are icons of positive and
negative effects that are currently affecting you. If you move the cursor over an
icon you will find what effect it indicates and how long it will affect you.
In combat, you can see a portrait of your current enemy including his health
indicator in the upper right corner of the screen. In the event that you use a special ability with a lasting effect against him, its icon will show under the portrait.
If you have already examined the kind of enemy youre fighting against, you can
find the current enemys level stated in his health indicator.
Tip: You can examine your opponent with special ability that you already learn in
your childhood.
Between these two indicators there is a compass making it easier for you to find
your way in difficult terrain. You may hide the compass and show it again by
clicking on its visible part.
Clicking on the blue button on the left side of the screen shows your journal. On
the opposite side of the screen there is a window with your equipment and inventory (see below).
An especially important part of the user interface is the bottom bar. There are
several buttons there, but more importantly icons of all of your special abilities.

10

Blue buttons open the map, the journal, equipment and inventory windows and the
game menu. If your special abilities do not fit in one bar, you may use the red button
to switch between icon bars. An ability can be used by clicking on its icon or by
pressing its hotkey. If you cannot use some of your abilities at a particular moment,
there will be small sign on the icon informing you about it. If you try to use the
ability just the same, the game will show you the reason why it is not possible.
Individual abilities can be placed on the bar by dragging from the journal. If you do
not want to use a certain ability anymore, you may simply drag it away and free its
space for another one. You can just as easily drag icons onto the bar so as to have
all of your most-used abilities at hand. The option to lock the bottom bar may be
quite useful too, so that you cannot move some icon by mistake or even delete it.
There is a green indicator above the bar. It shows your progress in gaining experience needed to advance to the next level. When you reach adulthood, a purple
indicator will emerge below it showing the favor of your chosen deity. At its sides
there are buttons for locking the bottom bar, protecting you from unintentionally
moving or deleting an icon.

Journal window
This window is divided into several independent windows. You can switch between
them using the big blue icons in the page
header.

Character information
This window contains the basic information about your character, i.e. your characters level, experience gained and experience needed for the next level. Below
you can find out how many points your
character has allocated to each of the six
attributes used in Numen: intellect, dexterity, strength, endurance, focus and
quickness. Those attributes gain importance only when you reach adulthood,

11

when two of them become primary. All the attributes become higher with each
new level, but the primary ones grow quicker. Each of those attributes influences
your character in a different way. You can find out how by moving the mouse
cursor over the name of the attribute. In childhood all the attributes grow automatically at the same rate. But in the event that youre sure from the beginning
which path you will later take in adulthood, you may assign one experience point
per level to one of the attributes.
Your future specialization will be decided by your behavior in childhood. The
way you perform your tasks determines whether you will later walk the way of
a warrior, fully develop your magical talents or utilize your extensive knowledge of nature. The third part of this window informs you about your progress
and tells you which way of playing you are inclined to. In adulthood that information is replaced by statistical data describing your weapon, spell-casting or
archery skills.

Abilities
This page of the journal provides you with
a summary of all spells and abilities you
currently possess. When you move the
cursor over a spell/ability, its description
shows in the upper part of the window. It
tells you how that particular ability or
spell affects you and your enemy, when
you can use that ability/spell and how long
you will have to wait before using it again.
When you reach adulthood two other
tabs will appear in this window. There
you will find information about spells
and abilities that you learned from your
priest, and information about spells and
abilities that can be given to you by your
deity during a ritual.

12

Quests
Here you will find all the quests given to
you by the characters you meet during your
adventure. On the first tab there is a list of
currently active quests including their
description that gives you all the information you need to successfully complete the
quests. If there is a blue dot next to the
quest name, this quest has already been
completed, but you have not yet asked for
your well-deserved reward. When you
receive a reward the respective quest moves
onto the second tab which lists finished
tasks. The last tab contains the current
main storyline quest. Its completion moves
you further along in the games storyline.
This tab also contains statistical data that
the game gathers, such as how many enemies youve already killed.

Equipment Window
The equipment window is divided into
several slots. You may drag items from
your inventory to these slots (provided
your character meets the necessary
requirements). You start the game only
with a short dagger, but as time goes by
you will find better and better weapons
and equipment, made for adventurers by
master craftsmen and mighty wizards.

13

Inventory Window
As a child you start the game Numen:
Contest of Heroes with the smallest
inventory, capable of holding only 32
items. In adulthood you will be able to
buy a mid-sized rucksack with 48 free
slots or even a large backpack capable of
storing up to 64 items. You can be sure
that a larger bag will come in handy,
because nearly every enemy you kill has
some interesting items. Some items (for
example healing potions or animal trophies) stack, so they will not needlessly
occupy precious space in your inventory.
You may sell most of the items in your inventory to a vendor. If no vendor is near
and you urgently need to free up some space, you may simply throw some items
away. However, in doing so you lose them irretrievably.
If you want to take several pieces of an item, you may specify the amount required
by clicking the item while holding the Shift key. Enter the required number of
pieces into the text box which appears.
During the game you will find a great many messages and scrolls of various kinds. You
may read them by clicking on them with the right mouse button. In several cases you
will need a shovel, used by the right mouse button as well. You may equip an ordinary
item by right-clicking on it without the need to drag it into the equipment window.
Items can also be dragged to the bottom bar. There you may place those items you
will use most often and need to keep as readily available as possible (the most
common examples being potions).
The amount of money you currently have is shown in the bottom right corner of the
inventory window. You will earn money most often by selling items to a vendor, but
quite nice sums of money will also come in the form of quest rewards. Sometimes
you may even find a small sum on a killed enemy or inside an unlocked chest.

14

Initially at least you will run low on money, but if you dont spend too lavishly and
at times ask more money for the work you do, youll surely have your purse full of
coins sooner or later. Youll spend your money mainly for learning new abilities and
spells, but also for performing rituals for your deity, paying fees for ferries and so on.
When you move the mouse cursor over an item, its
short description is shown. It contains not only the
name of the item, but also various other important
pieces of information. The color of the name of an
item determines its quality. In the early stages of
the game youll find items of low quality without
any magical powers. Their name is displayed in
agray color. Later youll mostly find quality items
named in green, and if youre lucky, youll even find some items with a blue name
and one or more magical powers. In rare circumstances you may find an item with
a gold name. When this happens, you may be sure that you really are favored by
your deity. Some items may have special powers given to them by their creator, in
which case a short description of those unusual powers is provided.
The description also tells you which slot in the equipment window the item fits in;
how it will increase your armor quality and your resistance to fire magic, ice magic
and shadow magic. It also tells you what special requirements you must meet to be
able to use the item. Most often your character must be at a certain level, which
represents a certain amount of experience gained. A callous warrior would likely
lose or damage a first-class sword than strike any fear in the enemy lines with it.
But some items may also have other requirements, for example a minimal dexterity or intellect. Sometimes you may find an item made for the opposite gender. You
cannot use such an item until you have it remade at a vendor.
The lowermost value in the description expresses the damage rate of the item. An
item becomes increasingly damaged with each use in combat. If you do not pay
attention to your equipment and have it repaired regularly, you may damage some
important item so much that it will be unusable until a vendor repairs it for you
for a large sum of money.

15

Resting and Saving the Game

You can save your progress in the game Numen: Contest of Heroes only at special
resting places. You will recognize them by a blazing fire. Such a system of saving
the game ensures that you wont rush headlong into battle against superior enemies. Instead, you must first study your surroundings and your enemies from
a safe distance and only then attack them. To rush headlong against enemies will
not make you a real hero. But even with all due caution it may happen that some
enemies surprise you, whether its by their endurance or by calling for reinforcements you didnt count with. In that case you may succumb to them. But you
neednt worry; your deity will take care of you and return you to the place of your
last rest without any sanctions on your attributes or belongings.
There are two kinds of rest. If you only want to save the game and replenish your
health and stamina, a short rest will suffice. In the event that you wish to switch
between the day and the night or for any reason wait for enemies in the area to
respawn, you will have to stay by the fire for longer time.
The transitions between the day and the night do not take place only for your
amusement. Some enemies, important characters and items may be present only
when nature is resting, so you can complete certain quests only at night.

16

Local Map and World Map

At almost any moment of your adventure you can have your character look into
maps, whether a local map or the map of the whole game world.
The local map shows a detailed representation of the island or other location where
you are currently situated (for example
a cave). With its help you can find out
where you are standing, where you may
rest and replenish your health and stamina, where an important character is waiting for you with interesting information
or a new quest, and a great deal of other
information. If you encounter an unknown cave or crypt during your travels on an
island, a mark will appear on the map for you to easily find the location in the future.
Not all underground places in the game contain something necessary to complete your
main quest, but they may hide valuable treasure that could make your life easier.
Sometimes you will want to look at
where the winds of destiny have blown
you. For that you have a world map at
hand where all places you have visited
so far are marked. The map is not
meant only to enable you to look back
on your travels, however; it also tells
you the strength of enemies at some
locations. You simply have to look
around and as soon as you find out the
level of the nearest enemy, the world map will tell you about the situation in the
place as a whole. Thus if the level of the nearest enemy is lower than the general
difficulty of the entire place, it stands to reason that enemies will get stronger after
you walk some distance.
Tip: Keep your eyes open for the Isle of Amazons, full of danger and intrigues, and
for the bonus island with the darkened temple of the slumber god.

17

Vendor
During your travels in Numen: Contest of Heroes you will gather
aconsiderable number of items dropped by dead enemies. Because
even heroes must count each drachma, its likely that youll soon
make the acquaintance of all vendors near and far. However, many
items cannot be sold. These may be, for example, special quest items
or items obtained from your deity or thanks to your special abilities.
But you have other options when doing business with vendors. If
you have sufficient cash you may also buy something. The three
icons on the left side of the vendor window select the desired category of items: weapons, armor and other useful items. The fourth
icon on the left allows you to purchase from the vendor a weapon or
armor that you sold him earlier but now wish to buy back. However,
because no vendor is a philanthropist, he will sell you your item for
a higher price. Therefore, always think carefully about what you
really want to sell and what not.
At the right side of the vendor window there are another three icons.
If you like playing dice, and if youre on good terms with Fortune, you
may try to play for a longed-for item. If you succeed, you will get the
item for free. If not, youll have to give the due amount of money to
the vendor without receiving anything for it. The middle icon is used
to repair items damaged in combat. The greater the damage the more
money the vendor will ask for its repair. The last icon will help you
with adjusting an item for your heros gender. Sometimes you will find
an armor that you would like to use but cannot because it is designed
for the opposite gender. In these cases you simply have to tell a vendor
and he will adjust the item for your needs for a consideration.
Besides vendors which you will find in any village and town there are also wandering
tradesmen that you can meet in even the most dangerous of places. Those tradesmen
will on the one hand save you the long trek back to civilization, but on the other hand
they will offer you lower prices for your items and ask you egregious sums for their
wares. Its up to you to decide whats better for your hero at any particular moment.

18

Play of Dice
If you want to buy some particularly interesting item from a vendor, but dont
want to drop your hard-earned money and you like to take chances, you may try
your luck and win the item at craps. All vendors in Numen love this pastime
mostly because theyre really good at it and seldom lose.
If you want to play craps for an item, first click on the dice icon at the right side
of the vendor window and then on the item you wish to win. You must have
enough money to buy the item, or else the vendor wont play with you. In the
event that you win, you receive the item for free. But if Fortune favors the vendor,
youll lose your money. Well, such is the nature of gambling

In the game of craps you use one six-sided dice with different symbols on each of
its sides. Two of them are red, two are green and the remaining two are blue. In
the beginning you get five tokens from the vendor. You bet them in each of
amaximum of five rounds on the symbol of your choice. If you succeed in guessing the symbol that falls on the dice in the respective round, you will get your
token back and moreover receive one more token as a reward. If you guess only
the color, you get your token back and nothing more. And in the event that you
bet on the wrong symbol and wrong color, you lose your token. Whoever has
more tokens at the end of the game wins. In the event of a draw it is necessary to
play again to decide who wins.

19

NPC Icons
You will meet many non-playable characters in Numen. Most of them will probably greet you or say something towards you, but because your quest will not wait,
you cannot speak at length with all of them. You may talk only with specially
designated characters, whose role in the game world is evident from the icon
displayed over their head.

Characters with this icon have important information for you

and may offer you a quest that you can perform for them.

If you accept a quest the laurel wreath icon over the respective
characters head will change its color to silver. The character will
not talk to you until you complete the quest.
When you complete a quest the silver laurel wreath icon of the
character that gave you the quest will change its color to gold. With
the help of this you may easily see whose quest youve already carried out and who you should ask for a reward.
This icon marks all vendors, as well as also animal traders.

The icon with blue waves marks a boatman who will transport you
wherever you wish, or perhaps only where he knows about and
where he regularly sails. The ferry will cost you some money.
Th is icon marks a rival hero who is also searching for the thief
who stole the Sickle of Kronos.

20

Fighting Enemies
Although Numen: Contest of Heroes isnt exactly an action RPG game, youll face your
fair share of combat in it. But to have the best game experience youll have to remember
one thing: if you rush headlong into a band of enemies in the world of this game, youll
very probably die. Numen isnt about crazy clicking and waiting for your enemy to fall
over dead. Quite the opposite: if you want to live long enough to recount your adventures to friends by the
fire during long winter
evenings, then youll
have to be careful.
First look around thoroughly, taking note
what routes enemies
are walking by and if
some of them sometimes stand far from
their
companions.
Then lie in for them in
such a place and attack
them at the right time. Even combat is more sophisticated in Numen. Its not enough to
click on an enemy and wait for your hero to take care of the rest. Indeed, your hero has
enough brains to attack on his own, but you will have to decide what special ability to
use and at what moment. Observe your enemy, note the attacks hes most vulnerable to
and watch out for him trying to use an ability that would decide the fight in his favor.
At the same time dont forget to occasionally look at your health indicator, lest you be
taken by surprise by your sudden death. You will surely gain enough healing potions
from dead enemies to be able to use them in case of need. Remember however that
you cannot drink a potion immediately after youve drank a previous one; you must
wait a while. Therefore, consider well which potion and at what moment will be the
best choice for you.

21

Tip: An archer has to keep his enemies at a distance. If an enemy gets too close to
him, the hero will do him much less damage. In such a case youll be warned by
ared mark displayed under the enemys portrait.
When you get to a new unexplored area, you should first find out the level of the
local enemies. Based on the color of the level number which appears over an
enemy you can easily decide if youre a worthy match for him or not. You have
only a small chance against exceedingly strong enemies marked by a red level
number. When fighting with an orange enemy you must be very careful at all
times and you should always have a healing potion ready. Enemies at the green
level are the best choice for you and will guarantee you the most well-balanced
fight. The weakest enemies show their level number gray. They pose no challenge
to you and you gain less experience for killing them, because you have nothing to
learn from them. If the level difference between you and them is especially large,
such enemies will rather try to ignore you until you will run into them and basically drive them into a suicidal attack.
When you kill an enemy he usually drops some loot. This may be anything from
a potion to a piece of armor and all kinds of weapons. You may look at what the
enemy has dropped by left-clicking on the loot. If you dont want to search
through the loot in the middle of the battlefield you may move it all into your
inventory by holding the Shift key and clicking on the left mouse button.
Remember that some actions cannot be taken during combat. You cannot, for
example, take items, talk to characters or rest by the fire.

Arena
On the sister isle Machatar there is the famous Arena, sought by heroes from all
over the world to fight with each other before the eyes of spectators and gods.
Fights in the arena, of course only those you win, are the fastest way to win your
deitys favor so that you may perform a ritual and ask your deity for a special item
or ability.
Tip: You may win a lesser amount of your deitys favor also by killing certain enemies or by making certain decisions that especially please your deity.

22

But before you rush headlong into combat with the first foreign hero you meet on
your journeys, you should know the rules of the Arena fight. The best way to learn
them is to take a practice duel with a training partner. Depending on how much
you believe in your skills you may even choose between fighting a single enemy
and battling three warriors simultaneously.
An Arena fight is quite specific. It doesnt matter what great weapons and armor
you have the chances of all participants in the Arena are the same. This is not
only because the effects of weapons and armor on the damage inflicted and taken
are suppressed and you cannot use any of your items, but also because all have
to make do with the basic spells and abilities. Only in this way, when all start
from the same point, is it possible to determine who is really the best. Only he
who gets the best grasp of its principles and learns to use them will become
champion in the Arena.

23

 Sometimes the gods send an ice or fire storm to the Arena. To overcome the
effect of such spells you may use special abilities that youll learn before stepping
onto the hot sands of the Arena.
Erebus, who watches the Arena from his shadowy realm, sometimes creates
astrange field there which does curious things to anyone who enters it. The person is cursed and his life will start to slowly diminish, but on the other hand he
will get a special blessing through which his next attack will do massive damage
to the enemy.
Sometimes the spectators throw an amphora into the Arena. Its contents may
vary it may be a poison, a healing potion or a strange mixture which temporarily evokes a state where all attacks from your human enemies turn against
them. Its up to each hero to decide if he wants to take his chances and drink
from the amphora.
And there are other things you may use in the Arena but its up to the hero to
find them out...
The more enemies you defeat in a single combat the more divine favor you get. Of
course you also gain some experience for each enemy knocked down.
In the course of the game it may happen several times that youll have to sail to
the Arena Island because a hero is waiting for you there, either because he has
challenged you to a duel or because you have challenged him. In that case both of
you will play dice first to decide who will set the rules of the upcoming fight. If
you win, you may choose if the fight is just between you two or if one or two more
companions join you. If you lose the dice game, it will be up to your opponent to
decide that. In the event that you defeat the rival hero in the Arena, your deity will
literally shower favors on you, because nothing pleases a god more than another
god being humiliated.
On rare occasions an Arena tournament is announced for all heroes to participate
in. If you decide to ignore such a tournament, prepare to stir up the wrath of your
deity. It will take a long time to get his favor back.

24

Animal Vendor
If you decide to make a sacrifice to your deity, you first have to visit an animal
vendor. With him you shall arrange what animal you want to sacrifice, and then
he along with your priest will prepare the offertory. At first it will suffice to sacrifice a simple chicken, but later a more suitable offertory will be a sheep and the
greatest heroes should sacrifice a sturdy bull to their deity. If you are too stingy
you may stir up the anger of your deity and lose their favor. If on the contrary you
spare nothing to please your deity, youll naturally win their favor.

25

Your priest

Your priest will play important role in your life. He will tell you important pieces
of information that will point you in the right direction. For a small fee he will
teach you new abilities and along with the animal vendor he will prepare offertories for your deity.

Your priest may teach you different abilities depending

on the class of your character.

26

Warrior
Final Blow
Finishing move. Uses heros energy accumulated during attacks
to grant one mighty blow. The effect growths with the amount
of energy available.

Resonant Strike I II
Th is strike will hit enemy sending a powerful resonance
through him which will cause a certain damage based on heros
level some time after the hit. The second rank will also stun the
target for three seconds.

Bandage Wounds
Warrior will bandage his wounds, restoring a certain amount
of HP based on his level. Cannot be used during combat.

Cursed Swing
Finishing move. Uses heros energy accumulated during attacks
to make an open deadly wound that hurts massively over the
next few seconds. As it is a dark shadow strike, physical armor
doesnt help against it. The effect growths with the amount of
energy available.

Precise Strike II
Warrior performs precisely timed and executed strike, causing
a certain damage based on his level. There is a small chance that
target will be stunned by such damage. You will learn the fi rst
level of this ability already as a child.

27

Deepen Wounds
If the target has Open Wounds, this attack will make them even
deeper, thus dealing another damage.

Whirlwind I III
During his attack, the hero will hit several enemies near him,
causing a certain damage based on his level to each.

Extermination I II
Deadly swing that deals more damage if the target is wounded. It
should kill the enemy if he is below 1/4 of HP. For the second
rank of this ability it is enough if HP of the target is below 1/3.

Stone Skin
Warriors skin will become harder to penetrate but his hits will
cause less damage for the next few seconds.

Inspiration
Uses energy accumulated during attacks to heal the hero significantly. The effect growths with the amount of energy available.

28

Reopen Wounds
If used on recently healed enemy it will remove all HP gained
by the healing spell.

Break Concentration
If this attack is performed against a spellcasting enemy, he will
become shaken and unable to cast for the next few seconds.

Berserk
Finishing move. Uses heros energy accumulated during attacks
to strike all enemies around him and increase strength slightly
for a short period of time. The effect growths with the amount
of energy available.

Maim II III
Hero maims the target for a short period of time. The enemy
will lose a certain amount of HP based on heros level over the
next few seconds. When using the third rank of this ability the
enemys strength is also lowered slightly during that time. You
will learn the fi rst level of this ability already as a child.

Shield Missiles
Th is ability increases heros chances to parry a missile attack for
the next few seconds. Hero has to have a shield equipped for
this ability to be effective.

29

Archer
Create Arrows I III
For a special song the Gods will give the hero a set of arrows. At
higher ranks hero will get more arrows.

Herb Lore I V
Hero will search his surroundings for healing herbs. Herb is
placed into the bag and can be used at any time to heal wounds.
At higher ranks hero will be able to fi nd stronger herbs.

Arrow Spray I III

By using this ability hero can hit two targets at once in front of
him for a certain damage each based on his level.

Head Blow
Archer will try to hit approaching enemy by a mighty handblow. If successful, enemy is stopped for a short period of time
so the hero may take advantage from spacing again.

Create Exploding Trap I V

Archer creates a trap that is placed on the ground. First enemy
who roams too close will trigger it. Explosion that comes from
that hurts all enemies around for a certain damage based on
heros level. Traps created with the knowledge of higher ranks of
this ability also hit all nearby enemies. One or more hunting
tools are needed for this.

30

Study Enemy I III

Hero watches his target and learns its moves and habits. That
creature then becomes Predictable. Fighting a Predictable
enemy brings significant bonuses. Only one target can be
Predictable at a time.

Backstab Shot
Deals a certain damage to an enemy based on heros level when
he is hit in the back.

Create Burning Trap I V

Archer creates a trap that burns the fi rst enemy that touches it
for a certain damage based on heros level. One or more hunting
tools are needed for this.

Silence Target I III

Hero will try to hit the target in such way that it cannot make
sounds or cast spells for the next few seconds based on heros
level.

Create Stunning Trap I III

Archer creates a trap that stuns the fi rst enemy that approaches
it. Hero needs hunting tools for this ability and traps of higher
levels stun the enemy for a longer period of time.

31

Tale of Zephyrus
Hymn to the god of winds protects hero from cold-based magic
and melee attacks. Lasts for five minutes. Only one song may be
active at any time.

Touch of Thanatos I II
Very special blessed shot that deals more damage when the
enemy is severely wounded. Should kill anyone under 1/4 of HP.
When using the second rank of this ability it is enough if HP of
the target is below 1/3.

Exploit Weakness
If used once the weakness is revealed this deals a certain
amount of damage based on heros level.

Moon Wreath Ballad

Th is tune calls upon Selene to create a Moon Wreath that protects heros mind. Hero is less vulnerable to shadow damage
and missiles. Lasts for five minutes. Only one song may be
active at any time.

Slash Vein II III

Hero will try to hit targets main artery. If successful, target will
bleed for the next few seconds suffering a certain damage based
on heros level. For the third rank of this ability there is a chance
each second that creature will start to panic and run in fear for
a short period of time. You will learn the first level of this ability
already as a child.

32

Shadow Figure
Creates a shadow figure container. Once this container is set
to the ground it can be triggered by a missile hit. Th is causes
a shadow figure to appear and lure all nearby enemies to its
position.

Aimed Shot II III

Hero fi res an aimed shot that causes a certain damage to its
target based on heros level and can also slow its movement for
a short period of time. When using the third rank of this ability
the target can even be stopped. You will learn the fi rst level of
this ability already as a child.

Disappear
Heros ties with nature allow him to quickly hide and disappear when chased by enemies.

Philoctetes Bane
When this tune is active, your missiles are blessed by your
ancestors so they hit harder. Lasts for five minutes. Only one
song may be active at any time.

33

Mage
Blessing of Aether
By calling upon Aether, heros spell damage is raised by 25% for
a certain period of time. Can be cast only when severely
wounded.

Frost Strike I III

Power of ice shatters the enemy, causing a certain amount of
cold damage to him based on heros level. If there is an enemy
nearby, he will be hit as well. Higher ranks of this spell will hit
more enemies and at the third rank there is also a chance of
freezing the targets for a short period of time.

Spirit Transformation I II
Hero sacrifices 50% of his current life to gain significant
amount of magical energy from gods. Double amount of energy
is gained at the second rank of this spell.

Wings of Hygeia I II
Calls upon spirit of Hygeia to heal a certain amount of HP
based on heros level. When using the second rank of this spell
small additional healing stays with hero and heals him over the
next five seconds.

Fireball II III
The caster hurls a fi reball at the target, exploding upon impact
and dealing a certain amount of fi re damage based on heros
level. Small portion of heat stays with target and deals another
damage over the next few seconds. When the rank III fi reball
runs out, a great explosion will hit the target and all enemies
nearby for 1/3 of stated damage. You will learn the fi rst level of
this ability already as a child.

34

Cone of Cold I III

Creates freezing cone that deals a certain amount of cold damage based on heros level to those within the area of effect. It
also stops enemy movement for a very short period of time.

Incinerate I II
Powerful spell that is able to deal more damage when the enemy
is severely wounded. Should kill anyone below 1/4 of HP. When
using the second rank of this ability it is enough if HP of the
target is below 1/3.

Helios Gaze I II
Creates a zone of enormous heat that deals a certain amount of
damage to all creatures inside for the next few seconds. When
using the second rank of this spell some of their lifeforce is
transfered to hero.

Shadow Curse II
Shadow curse causes the enemy to suffer striking pain for several seconds based on heros level. There is a chance every second that this curse will spread to another, still unaffected
enemy nearby. You will learn the fi rst level of this ability
already as a child.

Circle of Silence I II
Creates cylinder inside which spells cannot be casted and all
magic flying through it is removed. When using the second
rank of this spell enemy magic can be reverted back to caster.

35

Fear I III
If successful, targeted enemy will flee in fear. At the second
rank the enemy fleeing sustains significant damage and if the
fear ends or enemy dies after being hit by the third rank of this
spell, the damage done is returned back to hero in form of
healing spell.

Horrific Vision
If cast on feared enemy, it will cause massive damage based on
heros level to enemys mind while removing the fear state at
the same time.

Firepath I III
Caster releases fi re from his fi ngertips. The fi re moves over the
ground, strikes the target and continues on to up to three enemies, dealing a certain amount of damage based on heros level
to each.

Combat Senses
Warrior, archer and mage also master the ability of Combat
Senses in their childhood that allows them to scrutinize nearby
enemies and determine their level.

36

37

Deities

In Numen: Contest of Heroes you may choose from three quite different specializations Warrior, Archer and Mage. Each of those classes is dear to some deities,
and each deity grants different special abilities to his or her chosen one. The following information will help you decide which path your hero should take.

38

Warrior
Warriors, never abandoning their weapons and shield,
are favorites of the following deities:

Hephaestus
Hephaestus is the god of fire and smithcraft. Although he is
physically handicapped he is a very skilled craftsman who made
armor for the greatest of Greek heroes, Achilles and Diomedes.
Moreover, he has built exquisite palaces on Mount Olympus and
molded Pandora out of the earth.

Hephaestus offers the following special abilities:

Call of Iron
All damage to enemies that hold or wear large iron objects is
raised by 10% for the next five minutes.

Armor Expertise
Every piece of armor hero wears has +10% armor rating and
doesnt get damaged.

Body Knowledge
As long as this spell is active hero gets +10% critical rating when
fighting against humanoid creatures.

39

Ares
Ares is the god of savage war who likes to get carried away by the
turmoil of bloody fights and the fury of battle. He likes warriors
for their bravery and valor. On the other hand, he doesnt hesitate
to aid the side of the conflict he likes here and now, and then runs
away from the fight without second thoughts if it goes wrong.

Ares offers the following special abilities:

Growl
While active, lesser enemies may become fearful or even
stunned by heros presence and vendors offer goods cheaper.

Rage
After casting this spell hero does +15% damage to selected target, but damage coming from other targets is increased by 20%.

Last Stand
Th is spell can be activated when hero is in critical state. His HP
is raised by 10 - 20% of maximum.

40

Hades
Hades is the obnoxious god of the underworld realm of the dead
which fell to him to reign when the world was divided up. Hes
the oldest son of the titan Kronos. His father ate him after he
was born because he feared Hades would dethrone him, but
later he threw him up along with all of his brothers and sisters.

Hades offers the following special abilities:

Whisper of Death
For next five minutes hero will have +30% chance to make
acritical hit against any undead enemy.

Reanimate
If hero dies in next five minutes he will be resurrected with 1/3
of his maximum HP and energy.

Power of Decay
When this spell is active, heros health is regenerated +10%
faster for every dead enemy that lies within five meters of hero.

Each of these three gods may also

teach you one other ability:
Bloodlust
Every defeated enemy refi lls a certain amount of maximum
energy. Lasts several minutes.

41

Archer
If youve decided to rely upon the bow and the harp,
youll please some of following deities:

Hermes
Hermes is not only the messenger of the gods but also a protector of roads and travelers, a great thief and the god of trickery
and cheating who has no match in cunningness, subtlety and
stealing. He performs the most difficult tasks for his father
Zeus and his duties include accompanying the souls of the dead
into the underworld.

Hermes offers the following special abilities:

Soft Steps
When this ability is active, hero can get near to enemy much
easier.

Sneaky Combat
Non-magical damage is reduced by 10% when fighting at night
or inside a dungeon.

Touched by Hermes
For the next ten seconds hero will absorb all magical damage
done to him.

42

Artemis
Artemis is the goddess of hunting and the Moon and shes often
depicted with bow and arrows. Furthermore, shes a protector
of woodlands and wild animals. Just like her brother Apollo she
may bring sudden death or diseases to mortals, but she may
also heal the ill.

Artemis offers the following special abilities:

Master Herbalist
Knowledge of herbs allows hero to maximize their effect.

Call Upon Wind

A strong wind will blow for the next few seconds. Enemy spells
become harder to cast and missile/thrown weapons to throw
resulting in higher chance of misses and resists.

Blessed Quiver
Every time hero shoots a basic arrow, there is a slight chance
that two arrows at the same time are released.

43

Apollo
Apollo has, among other things, control over light, the arts,
archery, oracles and prophesies. He is also the protector of herds
and may spread plague with his arrows in case of need. He is the
patron of the Pythian Games held every four years in his honor.

Apollo offers the following special abilities:

Spirit of Bow
For the next few seconds all arrow-based attacks will deal 10%
more damage, but hero is more vulnerable to melee damage.

Focus Burst
If this spell is active next attack you make has a higher chance
of causing a critical damage.

Apollos blessing
Th is permanent blessing raises heros chance of performing
acritical hit by 3%.

Each of these three deities may also

teach you one other ability:
Keen Eye
Maximum attack range for ranged weapons is raised by five
meters for next twenty minutes.

44

Mage
Those who decide to wield magical abilities may ask
for the favor of one of the following deities:

Poseidon
Poseidon is the god of seas and waters and the middle of the
sons of Kronos. He received a trident from the Cyclops with
which he may unleash storms and earthquakes. Hes often carried away by his surliness and greed.

Poseidon offers the following special abilities:

Naiads Touch
Heros health is fully restored. He has to stand in the water to
use this ability.

Water Affinity
Every offensive or healing spell that hero casts while standing
in water is 15% stronger.

Soothing Rain
A rain cloud appears above hero. All damage he receives is
reduced by 10%, all fi re damage by 40%.

45

Athena
Athena is the goddess of wisdom and victorious battles and
master of tactics and strategy. She is the defender of bravery,
law, justice and arts. Athena is one of the most powerful goddesses and the favorite daughter of Zeus.

Athena offers the following special abilities:

Mind Trick
If successful, enemy will not notice hero for the next few seconds. Can only be used while out of combat.

Confusion
For next ten seconds the affected enemy has 15% chance to
become confused and to cast an offensive spell on himself.

Brilliancy
Casting this spell will refi ll 25 - 50% of maximum energy. The
amount depends on how much light is available around hero.

46

Zeus
Zeus is the greatest of the Greek gods and the youngest son of
the titan Kronos. When the world was divided up he became
the ruler of the land and the sky. As the highest of the gods he
oversees the world order, which means he ensures alteration of
night and day and the changing of the seasons.

Zeus offers the following special abilities:

Mighty Flash
Powerful flash that will hurt enemies eyes for a certain damage.
Effective outside at night, to lesser extent in dungeons lit with
torches.

Lightning Bolt
Hero throws a lightning bolt that will hurt all enemies in its path
for a certain amount of HP.

Earthquake
The ground will tremble and every enemy in vicinity has 20%
chance to become stunned for a short time.

Each of these three deities may also

teach you one other ability:
Divine Focus
For several seconds, the spell critical chance is greatly increased.
Can be cast only when magical energy pool is close to empty.

47

Moreover, you may ask each of the nine deities present

in Numen: Contest of Heroes for the following:
Scroll of Divine Armor
The hero gets a scroll of divine armor. It will increase his endurance and armor strength for one hour.

Scroll of Divine Health

The hero gets a scroll of divine health. It greatly increases his
health for one hour.

Luck of the Brave

For the next few minutes hero will have to fight with only half
of his maximum hitpoints. Every enemy stronger than him that
he kills in that state increases the chance of fi nding an extra
magical weapon or armor.

Divine Intervention
In the very near future your God will help you in some way

Hymn of the Temple

A scroll with magical words that will bring the hero right back
to the temple of his God. It might not work everywhere.

48

Machatar - the city of temples

Even the strongest hero cannot do
without collaboration with his priest.

49

Your First Moments in the Game

After the initial dialogue with your uncle Tarrius you receive a dagger in your
inventory. You certainly wouldnt be making a mistake by equipping it at once,
for there is danger waiting for you everywhere on the island these days. So, open
the inventory (hotkey I) and the equipment window (O). You may equip the
dagger, for example, by dragging it with the left mouse button to the equipment
window. Another way is to click on the dagger in the inventory with the right
mouse button. After the initial dialogue you also learn the first main quest of the
story Gain experience and learn the basics. Thats more easily said than done,
right? But what shall you do, exactly? It would be best to ask your uncle, who will
give you the quest Neverending fight. If you wish to complete this quest you
must find and kill five wolves that roam about Leros and do harm. Using the
compass near the upper edge of the screen turn to the west (W) and set out for
the village.
Go south (S) from the village square and notice old Theophon standing on the
left in front of the bridge. Your uncle warned you of him, but if you wish to study
the mysteries of magic do not hesitate to talk to Theophon. With his help you
may learn your first spells and find out about several interesting quests. In the
event that you wish to try fighting with the bow and arrows you should visit the
hunter Leodokles. You will easily find him on the seashore, to the right of a big
rock, and he too will give you several quests and reward you handsomely for
completing them. If you are not sure which class you would like to play in
Numen, its best to talk to both Theophon and Leodokles and learn both the
basics of magic and archery. In this way youll gain access to more special abilities and you will be able to try them in combat. If you refuse to talk with
Theophon and Leodokles several times, youll close the path to magic and
archery forever.

50

If you go around the above-mentioned rock, do not overlook the small fire. You
may rest by it, save your game or wait for nightfall or for daybreak. Then return
back to the bridge and go over it. On the other side you have to start exercising
caution because you may run into a wolf at any moment. This is the best time to
use the first of your special abilities, the Combat Senses, which helps you to
determine the level of nearby enemies. You use a special ability either by left
clicking its icon on the bottom bar or by pressing its hotkey. So, use the Combat
Senses and find out the level of the nearest wolves. Their level will show on the
enemys health indicator. If a wolf within your sight doesnt have its level displayed above it its because the animal is too far away from you. To find out its
level you must first get closer to it. If youre curious and want to know the average
level of all enemies on Leros, you may determine it very easily. You simply have
to find out the level of the first enemy, then show the local map (M) and switch
to the world map using the button on the right side. There you will see the average enemy level displayed on the island of Leros.

51

When playing Numen: Contest of Heroes its important to remember that you
should carefully decide against how many enemies at once you want to fight. If
you rush headlong against a pack of wild wolves, youll be lucky to manage to
run away to safety. Look around, select a lone wolf that has strayed away from its
pack, and attack it at the right moment with some of your special abilities. No
hero would do without them in Numen. Now you have up to three special abilities your uncle Tarrius taught you the Precise Strike. If you have visited
Theophon you know how to cast a fireball. From Leodokles you may have
learned how to shoot an Aimed Shot. Every newly learned special ability and
spell is added to the bottom bar where you may move the spell/abilities icons at
your discretion or delete them by dragging them outside the bar when you dont
need them. All spells and abilities learned can also be found in your journal.
From there you may drag them back to the bar to start using them again.
So, how did your first combat go? Did you succeed? If you did, dont forget to
collect the loot dropped by the dead enemy. You do it by left-clicking on it, which
will display all the contents of the loot. Then move all of the things you wish to
take into your inventory by right-clicking on their icons. Another possibility is
to first press and hold the Shift key and then left-click on the loot. In this way you
take all the loot with you without the need to search through it.
When fighting, dont forget to watch the indicators next to your portrait in the
top left corner of the screen, especially the health indicator. If it gets too low and
you dont have a healing potion ready, then do not hesitate to run away from the
fight. If you fail to escape you will respawn by the nearest resting fire. Also watch
the smallest indicator showing your stamina. It gets lower as your fatigue
increases. The less stamina you have the slower you heal after combat. When
your stamina reaches zero you stop healing entirely. In that case its advisable to
get some rest.
So, now lets kill all five wolves one after the other as your uncle asked you to. The
number of killed enemies is written in the lower part of the screen after each
combat, and the same information can be found in the journal. A blue dot next
to the name of a quest means youve completed that quest and may go for your
reward to the person who gave it to you. After youve killed at least five wolves

52

return to old uncle Tarrius, tell him that youve completed his quest and immediately ask him for another. It seems that some dangerous pirates have landed on
Leros and its necessary to seek them out and get rid of them. This quest is a great
example of your actions affecting future events in the game. Its not necessary to
solve every problem by brute force, is it? On the other hand, sometimes even
awell-meant deed may have negative consequences
This time you will go the opposite direction from your uncles house, to the east.
At a crossroads beware of omnipresent spiders turn right, and lets see whos
waiting for us there your sibling whos also looking around the island and
gaining new experience. Talk with your sibling every time you dont know where
to go. On the local map you will easily recognize your sibling by a green laurel
wreath icon, marking all characters that you may speak with. If you cant find
your sibling anywhere on the map, go and rest. Much like you, your sibling likes
walking the island at night and youll get another opportunity to meet up.
Now you know all you need to immerse yourself in the story told by the game
Numen: Contest of Heroes. You know how to obtain a quest, how to use special
abilities and spells, how to rest, what you should be careful of and many other bits
and pieces you wont get along without. So, good luck. Your destiny awaits you.

53

Default Hotkeys

Key Action
Esc Pause Game / Game Menu
J Journal Window
OEquipment Window
IInventory Window
M Map
W Run Forward
SWalk Backward
A Look Left
D Look Right
QStrafe Left
EStrafe Right
Up Arrow Run Forward
Down ArrowWalk Backward
Left Arrow Look Left
Right Arrow Look Right
1 - =Use Ability / Spell
Tab Switch Between Enemies
Left Alt Switch between Bottom Bars
Shift + Left ButtonSelect Item Amount in the Inventory
 Pick up the whole of loot
Left Mouse Button Execute an Action
Right Mouse ButtonMark an Enemy Without Attacking
Equip an item
Hold Right Button Mouselook
Wheel Up Zoom In
Wheel Down Zoom Out
F12Save Screenshot

54

Credits

Ale Ulm
Lead designer
Scripting

Martin Linda
AI programming
Music and sounds

Karel amonil
Lead artist
designer

Viktor Bocan
Additional
game rules

Luk Macura
Game rules
Producer

Jaroslav Kuli
Art

Marek Nepoitek
Art
Producer
Web Design
Martin Vocet
Character
design
Animation

Filip Chlevian
Testing
Pavel freeDOOM
Tma
Testing
Matj Syxra
Dtp
Michal Pecka
Dtp

Erik Codl
Art
Tom Roth
Art

Martin Kov
Testing
Manual

Karel Matjka
Art

Ctibor Dolej
Proofreading

Jan Jinda
Art

Christopher Culver
Proofreading

Uses the CPAL3D engine created by Centauri Production.

www.cpal3d.net
www.centauriproduction.com

Numen: Contest of Heroes 2010 Cinemax

All trade marks belong to their respective owners. All rights reserved.

55

Produced and distributed by CINEMAX

Eliky Pemyslovny 433/33, 156 00 Prague 5 Zbraslav, Czech Republic
www.cinemax.cz | games.cinemax.cz